Photograph by: Paul Chiasson
, THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER — In December, the Canadian Football League’s rudderless Ottawa expansion franchise, set to debut in 2014, contacted Wally Buono and inquired whether the B.C. Lions boss would be interested in taking over their startup operation.

This month, it’s the Montreal Alouettes who have a vacancy to fill, following the departure of Marc Trestman to the Chicago Bears, who will introduce their new head coach at a news conference Thursday.

Montreal GM Jim Popp, himself a candidate for three positions in the National Football League, must start moving soon to find Trestman’s replacement. If Buono’s name was at the top of Ottawa’s wish list, why not Montreal’s?

“If Wally contacted me, I’d surely consider it,” Popp said Wednesday, knowing full well that Buono is firmly rooted on the West Coast and not likely to consider a lateral move.

Montreal’s French-speaking media has identified Danny Maciocia, former head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos, and Lions offensive co-ordinator Jacques Chapdelaine as prospective candidates to replace Trestman. But that conjecture is based as much on bilingual ability as football acumen.

Popp quickly took aim at Trestman in his coaching search five years ago, aware of Trestman’s extensive NFL background with eight different teams. And Popp figures to go that route again, placing overall football knowledge and experience well ahead of linguistic considerations.

Chris Jones, the defensive co-ordinator of the Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts, was with the Alouettes from 2002-2007, and he might be the leading candidate from within the CFL. Yet Popp certainly won’t limit himself by staying in-house in an eight-team league.

“We’ll put together a good, solid list of a variety of people. But, at the end of the day, it’s an owner’s (Robert Wettenhall) decision,” Popp said from St. Petersburg, Fla., where he is scouting Saturday’s East-West Shrine game. “Marc was the guy who was at the top of my list (in 2008). We brought him in, and we fell in love with him.”

“Honestly, when you look at what’s transpired in the NFL in the last 10 years, the CFL influence has been dramatic,” Buono said. “They talk about Russell Wilson, RG III (Robert Griffin) and Colin Kaepernick. We’ve been playing that kind of football for 25 years. Who does Johnny Mansell (Heisman Trophy winner from Texas A&M) remind you of? Doug Flutie. Now, all of a sudden, those same kind of guys are revolutionizing the NFL. You look at MARC’s background, and he’s a great fit for the NFL.”

Given the proliferation of fast-break, readoption, spread offences, the NFL game indeed is becoming more like the CFL, and coaching styles are converging. In that respect, more coaches from the NCAA ranks or NFL assistants might consider Canada less of a football Siberia and more of an opportunity for resume-polishing. Trestman is Exhibit A.

“That’s the silver lining,” Buono said. “We’ve lost a very good coach, a very good ambassador for our league and our game. But Marc put himself in a position of leadership and achievement (in the CFL). I’m hopeful that other (American) coaches, who want to grow in leadership, and have perhaps been overlooked, will recognize there are other opportunities out there for them, too, like Marc did.”

Though he retired in 2011 as the winningest coach in CFL history, with four Grey Cup rings and three coach-of-the-year awards, Buono never entertained thoughts of coaching in the NFL. That’s because he was never asked.

“Nobody ever approached me, but I’m OK with that,” he said. “Marc has a pedigree in the NFL. He had that clout. Football is no different than any other business. It’s the connections you establish. I stayed in one country and one league for my whole career, and my exposure (to the NFL) was limited. I understand that. But, honestly, I don’t know if the formula (for winning) is all that different.”

By hiring Trestman, the Bears acknowledged that fact — and how quickly the NFL game has become like the offensive-driven league to the north.

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